Apparatus and method for performing tasks on a pattern planted field

ABSTRACT

An agricultural machine system for performing agricultural tasks in a in a field on which plants are planted or will be planted in a pattern, the system comprising: a prime mover; a tool bar connected to the prime mover; a plurality of units attached to the tool bar, the units configured to perform at least one agricultural tasks and wherein at least two of the units are disposed in an offset relationship from each other with respect to a forward direction of travel of the agricultural machine about the tool bar; and a control unit in communication with the prime mover and the plurality of units, the control unit configured to determine a selective location corresponding to the pattern in which plants are planted or will be planted and activate the units at the selective location to perform the at least one agricultural task as the agricultural machine system travels along a plurality of rows.

RELATED APPLICATION

This patent arises from a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/990,477, entitled “Apparatus and Method for Performing Tasks on aPattern Planted Field” and filed on May 25, 2018. U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/990,477 is hereby incorporated herein in itsentirety. Priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/990,477 isclaimed.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to an agricultural vehicle forperforming tasks on a field on which plants are planted or will beplanted in a pattern.

BACKGROUND

In agriculture, plants that are planted at greater distances from eachother such as maize or beets are usually sown by precision seeders. Inthis case a tractor moves a plurality of row units mounted on a tool barover a field and the row units are controlled so that the seeds aredeposited at spacings that are as regular as possible. This procedurehas the effect that all row units of the machine are to be activated atthe same time at least when traveling in one direction of the plantingpattern (and in both directions in the case of rectangular plantingpatterns). In the case of diamond-shaped planting patterns, half of theunits would still need to be activated at the same time.

An electromagnetic actuation of a plurality of row units on a planter,the nozzles on a sprayer or ground engaging tools of a cultivator hasthe result that a sudden high load on the power supply arises. Forexample, in the case of a local, site-specifically controlled output ofliquid (water, spray agent, liquid fertilizer) or solid substances (forexample, fertilizer granules), the simultaneous activation of aplurality of nozzles causes undesirable pressure variations in thesupply system, and a simultaneous activation of mechanical units likecultivators for weeding can result in oscillations of the frame carryingthe units in the lateral or forward direction. In another example, theunits of the planting or seeding machine need to be controlledcompletely or at least partly at the same time during the introductionof the plants or the seed, which likewise can lead to undesired loadpeaks in the drive.

SUMMARY

Various aspects of the present disclosure are set out in the claims.

According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, an agriculturalmachine system is provided for performing agricultural tasks in a fieldon which plants are planted or will be planted in a pattern, the systemcomprising: a prime mover; a tool bar connected to the prime mover; aplurality of units attached to the tool bar, the units configured toperform at least one agricultural task and wherein at least two of theunits are disposed in an adjustable offset relationship from each otherwith respect to a forward direction of travel of the agriculturalmachine about the tool bar; and a control unit in communication with theprime mover and the plurality of units, the control unit configured todetermine a selective location corresponding to the pattern in whichplants are planted or will be planted and activate the units at theselective location to perform the at least one agricultural task as theagricultural machine system travels along a plurality of rows.

According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, a method forperforming agricultural tasks in a field on which plants are planted orwill be planted in a pattern is provided, the method comprising:providing a machine with units disposed at an offset from each otherwith respect to a forward direction of travel of the machine, the unitsconfigured to perform the tasks in a forward direction along the plantrows defined by the planting pattern; providing a control unit incommunication with the machine and the units; determining, with thecontrol unit, a selective location corresponding to the pattern in whichplants are planted or will be planted; and activating, with the controlunit, the units at the selective location to perform the at least oneagricultural task as the agricultural machine system travels along aplurality of rows.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The detailed description of the drawings refers to the accompanyingfigures in which:

FIG. 1 shows a top view of a machine for performing tasks on plantsplanted in a planting pattern on a field, as is known from the priorart,

FIG. 2 shows a top view of a first embodiment of a machine forperforming tasks on plants planted in a planting pattern on a field, and

FIG. 3 shows a top view of a second embodiment of a machine forperforming tasks on plants planted in a planting pattern on a field.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In order to allow travel over the field for certain post-planting tasks(e.g., fertilizing, pest and weed control), it has been proposed tocontrol the planter row units automatically so that the seed isdeposited at predetermined locations, and thus a regular pattern ofplants arises over the entire field (or a part thereof), which enablestravel in two different directions, which are at an angle to each other(P. Pawlow, “The Mechanization of Rectangular Grid Sowing of Maize,”Agrartechnik, March 1959, pp. 101-104, N. Karakowa, “Machines for MaizeCultivation,” Agrartechnik, March 1959, pp. 108-109, and German PatentApplication No. DE 10 2005 010 686 A1). In this way the moisture andnutrient uptake of the plants is improved and it becomes possible toremove weeds standing between the plant rows by covering both directionsin succession with a cultivator. The sowing operation can be controlledusing a satellite-based position determining system, where, depending onthe angle between the two directions, the individual seeding unitsbecome activated at the same time (in the case of a rectangular plantingpattern) or staggered in time (in the case of a diamond-shaped plantingpattern with non-orthogonal directions).

It was also proposed to control the activation of seeding units by apreset map defining a planting pattern (U.S. Pat. No. 6,941,225).Certain post-planting tasks like application of pesticides directly ontothe plants, cultivating, irrigating, and fertilizing take place viamachines that are guided manually or automatically along one or moredirections defined by the planting pattern. Such machines usually eachcarry a plurality of units for performing the tasks, each of which isassigned a plant row or a space remaining between adjacent plant rows.The units are automatically controlled on the basis of the knownposition of the individual plants. Cultivating and spraying withoperating elements offset in the forward direction have already beendescribed (N. Karakowa, et al., German Patent Application No. DE 41 35414 A1 and WO 2017/184 637 A1) with the operation or the liquid outputtaking place continuously.

In one possible embodiment, a control unit is connected to a memory 28,in which a map of the locations regarding the position on which plantshave already been planted or seeded or are to be planted or seeded in asubsequent step is stored. The memory 28 provides a non-transitorycomputer readable storage medium that stores operational instructionsthat are executed by a processing module of the control unit 24.

The memory 28 may include a single memory device or a plurality ofmemory devices. Each memory device is associated with a memory typeincluding one or more of a read-only memory, random access memory,volatile memory, non-volatile memory, cache memory, and/or any devicethat stores digital information. Each memory device may be implementedutilizing one or more technologies including static random access memory(SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), NAND flash memory, magneticmemory (e.g., a hard disk), and optical memory (e.g., an optical disc)that stores digital information. The memory device may be removable(e.g., a universal serial bus flash drive) to facilitate transfer ofdata between the computing unit 26 and other entities that may operablycouple with the removable memory device.

Further, with respect to this possible embodiment, the control unit 24is in communication with a position determining device and is configuredto activate the units 22 at predetermined positions using the signals ofthe position determining device and the map. Alternatively oradditionally, the positions at which the units 22 are to be activatedcan be detected using a sensor associated with at least one row unit(for example a camera).

The offset, in the forward direction, of the units 22 that are to beactivated successively in time can correspond at least approximately tothe spacing of the plants—which could can be an actual or intended plantspacing—in the forward direction of the machine divided by the number ofunits of the machine. Because of this, the activation of all units isevenly divided over the time that the machine needs to travel in theforward direction from one plant to the next plant.

The offset of the units of the machine with respect to each other can beachieved by mounting the units on a transverse tool bar, but withdifferent spacings from the tool bar in the forward direction, and/or byusing a plurality of tool bars (carrying one or more units offset or notoffset in the forward direction), which are mounted offset in theforward direction. Additionally or alternatively, the tool bar can beoriented not perpendicular to the forward direction, but rather at anangle rotated about a first axis, e.g., a vertical axis, whichaccordingly extends at an angle to the transverse direction. The saidorientation can be achieved by rotating the tool bar about the firstaxis by a fixed or variable angle with respect to a chassis carrying thetool bar, which is pulled by a towing vehicle, or with respect to thechassis of a self-powered vehicle. In the case of a self-propelledvehicle with steerable wheels offset in the forward direction, there isalso the possibility of having it travel in a crab steering mode inorder to achieve the said angle. It can be appreciated by one ofordinary skill that in addition to rotation about a first axis, the toolbar could also be rotated about one or more additional axes in one moreplanes, e.g. a vertical plane, horizontal plane or some combinationthereof.

Since the spacing of successive plants—which again could be an actual orintended plant spacing—in the forward direction of the machine is notnecessarily constant, the offset of the units can be adjustably manuallyor with an actuator associated with at least one of the units. For this,the units can be mounted on a tool bar, the angle of which can be variedabout the vertical axis for adjusting the offset of the units. The toolbar can be mounted on a bracket, which is connected to a vehiclecarrying or towing the bracket, and the angle between the bracket andthe tool bar can be varied about the vertical axis. It would also bepossible for the tool bar to be mounted on a steerable chassis and theangle between the chassis and a vehicle towing it to be variable.

Preferably, the units are irregularly offset over the width of themachine with respect to the forward direction. Accordingly, adjacentunits are not immediately activated one after the other, but ratherunits that are spaced farther apart are so activated. This procedure hasthe advantage that undesirable mechanical oscillations are avoided, andpressure variations in the liquid supply are avoided in the case ofunits applying liquids.

The units can be configured to apply liquid (for example, water, sprayagents, liquid fertilizers), solids (for example, plants, seeds,fertilizers), and/or for mechanical working of the field (for example,as cultivators for weeding), or the plants (for example, for cutting).Thus, for example, first fertilizer and then seed can be applied to thelocations preset by the planting pattern with a single machine in asingle pass, or two different machines following one another are usedfor this. As mentioned, the units can work on the field before theplants have been seeded or planted into the ground, for example toprovide fertilizer supplies in the ground.

FIG. 1 shows a top view of a machine 10 for performing tasks (inparticular cultivation measures or sowing operations) on plants plantedin a planting pattern on a field according to the prior art. The machinecomprises a vehicle 11 in the form of a tractor with a chassis 12, whichis supported on the ground on driven rear wheels 14 and steerable frontwheels 16 and can be moved over the soil of a field in a forwarddirection V, which goes from left to right in FIG. 1, by substantiallyknown drive system (e.g., drive engine, transmission).

A tool bar 20, which carries a number (n, four in this example) of units22, which serve to perform tasks on plants 36, is mounted on athree-point hitch 18, which has an upper arm and two lower arms. Theunits 22 can supply the plants with nutrients (fertilizer), water,pesticides, etc., or can control weeds growing between the plants 36mechanically or using a spray agent.

The plants 36 are planted or planned to be planted in a rectangularplanting pattern, which could also be diamond-shaped. The machine 10accordingly can travel over the field in a first direction, as shown inFIG. 1, or a second direction, which runs transverse to it. In the caseof a diamond-shaped planting pattern, the second direction would not beorthogonal to the first direction, but rather would be oriented at anangle of about 60° to it.

The machine 10 comprises a control unit 24, which is connected to amemory 28 and a position determining device 26 and serves to activatethe units 22 when a plant 36 and/or an intermediate space between plants36 in the forward direction V or transverse thereto is to be treated,and then to deactivate them again. For this, the position determiningdevice 26 receives signals from satellites of a satellite-based positiondetermining system (for example, GPS, Galileo, and/or Glonass) andpossibly local or global correction signals, in order to determine itsactual position, which the control unit 24 converts to the positions ofthe units 22 (see generally European Patent Application No. EP 0 970 595A1 and European Patent Application No. EP 0 845 198 A1).

An electronic map stored in the memory 28 can be used by the controlunit 24 to calculate the actual or intended positions of the individualplants 36 is stored in the memory 28. The map can, for example, containthe locations of all the plants to be treated in two- orthree-dimensional coordinates or relative data on the spacing ofadjacent plants in two directions, the alignment of the plants 36, and areference location. The map can have been stored during the sowing orplanting of the plants 36 as a target or actual value map andtransmitted to the memory 28. The units 22 are then always activated bythe control device 24 when they have reached a position at which tasksare to be carried out. Alternatively or additionally, it would also bepossible to equip the individual units 22 with sensors (not shown) thatdetect when the units 22 are to be activated. Such sensors could be, forexample, cameras with image processing systems for recognition of plantsand/or weeds growing between them.

Steering of the vehicle 11 along the plant rows can take placeautomatically using the position determining device 26 and a steeringcontrol of the vehicle 11 or manually by an operator of the vehicle 11.The same applies to the drive speed of the vehicle 11.

Since the planting pattern in FIG. 1 is square or rectangular, all units22 of the machine 10 always reach the plants 36 that are to be treatedat the same time. Thus, all units 22 are also to be activated at leastapproximately at the same time. This has the result that a very highcurrent demand occurs when the valves of units 22 that apply liquid areswitched on or when units 22 are mechanically activated byelectromagnets, which highly stresses or even overloads the electricalpower supply of the machine 10. The same is true for the liquid supplyof the units applying liquid, which becomes suddenly highly stressed oroverloaded. Moreover, undesirable pressure variations and oscillationscan arise in the liquid supply. In the case of mechanically actuatedunits 22, mechanical oscillations can arise in the tool bar 20, eitherin the transverse direction or forward direction V.

FIG. 2 shows a first embodiment of the invention, in which the saiddisadvantages are avoided or at least reduced, in that the units 22 areoffset relative to each other in the forward direction V. The unit 22 atthe top, which is disposed farthest to the right, is disposed farthestto the rear, while the unit 22 that is designated as the third unit fromthe top is disposed farthest forward. The unit 22 at the bottom, whichis disposed farthest to the left, and the unit 22 that is the secondunit from the top lie between them, but also are offset with respect toeach other. The offset of units 22 that follow one another in theforward direction V is in each case the same and corresponds to thespacing of adjacent plants 36 in the forward direction V divided by thenumber n of the units 22. In this way the units 22 are each activated ina staggered way with equal time spacings. The non-regular distributionof the offset of the units 22 over the width of the machine 10, whichleads to adjacent units 22 not being activated timewise immediately oneafter the other has the advantage that otherwise possible undesirablemechanical oscillations and possibly hydraulic oscillations are avoidedor reduced.

Since the spacing of adjacent plants 36 in the forward direction is notnecessarily always the same, but rather can be differently selected bythe farmer during sowing or planting in dependence on site conditions,etc., in the embodiment according to FIG. 2 an adjustment assembly forchanging the offset of the units 22 in the forward direction V isprovided. The assembly comprises a bracket 30 attached to the vehicle 11via a three-point hitch 18, on which the tool bar 20 can be pivotedabout a vertical axis 32 and which is adjustable using the actuator 34.Through the actuator 34, the control device 24 can thus change the angleof the tool bar 20 about the vertical axis 32, either by manual entry byan operator into an operator interface or automatically according to themap stored in memory 28, in which, among other things, the spacings ofthe plants 36 in the forward direction are stored. The offset of theunits 22 in the forward direction V also changes with the angle of thetool bar 20 about the vertical axis 32. To a certain extent the lateraloffset of the units 22 also changes in this case, but this is harmlessif they can also treat the plants from a certain distance, as is thecase with units 22 that apply liquids. Otherwise, an alternativeadjustment assembly may be provided to offset the units 22 in thetransverse direction by hand or with at least one actuator. In anotherembodiment, three units 22 could also be assigned their own actuators ormanually actuatable adjustment elements, which enable the position ofthe units 22 to be adjusted only in the forward direction V.

In the second embodiment of the invention according to FIG. 3, the toolbar 20 is not attached to a three-point hitch 18, but rather to aseparate chassis 42, which is connected to a towing hitch 38 of thevehicle 11 via a drawbar 40. The angle of the drawbar 40 with respect tothe vehicle 11 is variable via a (first) actuator 48, while the wheels44 of the chassis 42 are steerable by an additional (second) actuator46. The actuators 46 and 48 thus allow the angle of the chassis 42 andthus the tool bar 20 to vary about the vertical axis with respect to thevehicle 11 and the forward direction V, in which regard one should referto the above statements regarding the second embodiment.

In the embodiments according to FIGS. 2 and 3, all four units 22 areoffset from each other in the forward direction V. If there is a largernumber of units 22, it would also be conceivable to mount some of theunits 22, for example, pairwise on both sides of the tool bar 20 on bothsides of the lengthwise plane of the machine 10 in like positions withrespect to the forward direction V, i.e., to mount the units 22symmetrically with respect to the lengthwise plane of the machine 10.Accordingly, not all of the units 22 have to be offset with respect toeach other, but rather it is sufficient if some of the units 22 areoffset with respect to each other in the forward direction V.

Having described one or more embodiments, it will become apparent thatvarious modifications can be made without departing from the scope ofthe invention as defined in the accompanying claims. Further embodimentsof the invention may include any combination of features from one ormore dependent claims, and such features may be incorporated,collectively or separately, into any independent claim.

1. A method for performing agricultural tasks in a field on which plantsare planted or will be planted in a pattern, the method comprising:providing a machine with first, second, and third units, the first,second, and third units disposed at a multiple of an adjustable offsetfrom each other, the adjustable offset in a forward direction of travelof the machine, the first, second, and third units configured to performthe agricultural tasks in the forward direction of travel along plantrows defined by the pattern; providing a control unit in communicationwith the machine and the first, second, and third units; determining,with the control unit, a selective location corresponding to thepattern; and activating, with the control unit, the first, second, andthird units at the selective location to perform the agricultural tasksas the machine travels along the plant rows.
 2. The method of claim 1,further including determining, with the control unit, the selectivelocation using a signal from a position determining device associatedwith the machine and a planting map having a location at which theplants are planted or will be planted.
 3. The method of claim 2, furtherincluding storing the planting map in a memory connected to the controlunit.
 4. The method of claim 1, further including adjusting, with thecontrol unit, the adjustable offset in response to the determining ofthe selective location.
 5. The method of claim 1, further includingadjusting, with the control unit, the adjustable offset using at leastone actuator associated with a tool bar of the machine.
 6. The method ofclaim 5, further including adjusting, with the control unit, a positionof the tool bar about a first axis of the tool bar to adjust theadjustable offset, the first axis transverse to the forward direction oftravel of the machine.
 7. The method of claim 1, further includingactivating, with the control unit, the first, second, and third units atthe selective location based on signals from sensors operatively coupledto the first, second, and third units.
 8. The method of claim 7, whereinthe sensors are cameras, further including determining, with the controlunit, the selective location based on images captured by the cameras. 9.The method of claim 1, further including causing, with the control unit,the first, second, and third units to apply at least one of fertilizer,water, granular material, seed, or mechanical treatment to the plantrows.
 10. An apparatus including: memory; instructions; and a processorto execute the instructions to at least: determine a selective locationcorresponding to a pattern in which plants are planted or will beplanted in a field; and activate first, second, and third control unitsat the selective location, the first, second, and third units to performagricultural tasks as a machine travels along plant rows, the first,second, and third control units disposed at a multiple of an adjustableoffset from each other on the machine, the adjustable offset in aforward direction of travel of the machine, the first, second, and thirdunits configured to perform the agricultural tasks in the forwarddirection of travel along plant rows defined by the pattern.
 11. Theapparatus of claim 10, wherein the processor is to execute theinstructions to determine the selective location using a signal from aposition determining device associated with the machine and a plantingmap having a location at which the plants are planted or will beplanted.
 12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the processor is toexecute the instructions to store the planting map in the memory. 13.The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the processor is to execute theinstructions to adjust the adjustable offset in response to determiningthe selective location.
 14. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein theprocessor is to execute the instructions to adjust the adjustable offsetusing at least one actuator associated with a tool bar of the machine.15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the processor is to execute theinstructions to adjust a position of the tool bar about a first axis ofthe tool bar to adjust the adjustable offset, the first axis transverseto the forward direction of travel of the machine.
 16. The apparatus ofclaim 10, wherein the processor is to execute the instructions toactivate the first, second, and third units at the selective locationbased on signals from sensors operatively coupled to the first, second,and third units.
 17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the sensors arecameras, and wherein the processor is to execute the instructions todetermine the selective location based on images captured by thecameras.
 18. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the processor is toexecute the instructions to cause the first, second, and third units toapply at least one of fertilizer, water, granular material, seed, ormechanical treatment to the plant rows.
 19. A non-transitory computerreadable medium comprising instructions that, when executed, cause aprocessor to at least: determine a selective location corresponding to apattern in which plants are planted or will be planted in a field; andactivate first, second, and third control units at the selectivelocation, the first, second, and third units to perform agriculturaltasks as a machine travels along plant rows, the first, second, andthird control units disposed at a multiple of an adjustable offset fromeach other on the machine, the adjustable offset in a forward directionof travel of the machine, the first, second, and third units configuredto perform the agricultural tasks in the forward direction of travelalong plant rows defined by the pattern.
 20. The non-transitory computerreadable medium of claim 19, wherein the instructions, when executed,cause the processor to determine the selective location using a signalfrom a position determining device associated with the machine and aplanting map having a location at which the plants are planted or willbe planted.